Kolhapur boys rescued by Goa police from custody of UK national in Goa

Six boys from Kolhapur in Maharashtra were rescued from the custody of a British national in Panaji last month by Panaji police with the help of a local NGO.

This is not the first case of involvement of the foreign national keeping the young boys unlawfully in their custody. Six boys, aged between 6 and 16 years, belong to Kolhapur and some of them are children of sex workers, were found in the custody of foreign national who is according to the information provided by the police staying in Goa without the valid documents. Arun Pandey of NGO Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ), which tipped off the police on the illegal custody of children, said.

A senior Goa police officer told PTI on condition of anonymity that six children were rescued from the custody of the British national on March 16 and that a detailed inquiry into the matter is on. According to police, when the raid was conducted at the place of the British national, he did not possess valid documents related to his stay in the country. The man has been charged under section 8 of Goa Children’s Act, the officer said.

It was due to the efforts of Mr. Pandey who was instrumental in the releasing of the minors from the custody of foreign national has accused the police for acting soft on the British national, “These boys were supplied to the Britisher by a Kolhapur-based charity house. Police has lodged a case of illegal custody (of minors) against the man and slapped only minor charges on him.” Pandey told the media. According to Mr. Pandey the accused should have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for human trafficking and arrested. Pandey also demanded investigation into whether this was a case of pedophilia or if the children were sexually abused by the accused.

According to the Goa Police the man has been charged under section 8 of Goa Children’s Act and they are doing the proper investigations if required more sections will be imposed on the accused in the course of investigation. “Investigations are going on. We can always add other sections during the inquiry,” the police officer said.